Sustainability Forum Puts Future Plans in Sharp Focus

Published - Thursday, 01 October, 2009

The British Hospitality Association’s (BHA) Sustainability Committee met this week, Monday 25th September, and established a framework under which it will help members prepare for the future.

The Forum’s activity will be grouped into the three areas of energy, water and waste and will centre on an online Sustainability Forum currently being developed within the BHA website at www.bha.org.uk.

John Dyson Food and Technical Affairs Advisor from the BHA said: “These three simple headings give a logical framework for us to work together to address the enormous issues which face our members and indeed all businesses in the 21st century. We know we have to further develop sustainable practices in our sector, whether that be best practice for food waste management, transportation of goods, or ways to reduce energy consumption. But other issues loom on the horizon and must be considered too - for example, the cost, the quality and the re-use of water.

Our aim is to help the hospitality sector in two main ways, to ensure that members have access to examples of current best practice and high quality advice about sustainable practices, and to lobby the government and EU legislators on behalf of the hospitality industry to ensure that our voice and our needs are understood.”

The most recent meeting, chaired by Best Western CEO David Clarke included a presentation on food waste recycling options from Cawleys and Wastesolve, which provides the only commercial food waste collection service to AD in the country, and a report from Oxford Brookes University Centre for Environmental Studies in the Hospitality Industry (CESHI).

“Sharing knowledge and experience is key to the role of the committee. From this we will be developing information and support services to members. This is a very lively and constructive forum with valuable contributions from all our members, and I am grateful to them for their time and commitment, which should benefit the whole hospitality sector.”

Editor's note:
The British Hospitality Association is the national trade association of the hotel, catering and leisure industry, representing more than 40,000 establishments with over 340,000 rooms and employing over 500,000 people. Cawleys is a leading waste management company in south east England, with a head office in Luton. The company provides a complete range of total waste management solutions, and is the only company in the UK to operate a commercial food waste collection service to anaerobic digestion.